Onus On 'Big Fella'

DAVE HYDE Commentary

Plain And Simple: Keep O'neal Out Of Foul Trouble --- Win.

MIAMI — Alonzo Mourning had something to say. You could see it in his eyes. He sat for several minutes after practice Monday and listened to people complicate the Heat's playoff series with Chicago.

Everything was thrown out there: Chicago's shooting, the Heat's defense, Chicago's grit, Udonis Haslem's thrown mouthpiece, James Posey's dumb shoulder block, and Gary Payton and Dwyane Wade squabbling like school kids in the middle of Game 4.

Finally, Mourning, who has seen pretty much everything in basketball, had enough in the way you should, too.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "the first two games we won and the Big Fella played extremely well in those two games. The last two games we lost, he didn't play well. I'm going to just put it out there right now: This is Shaq's team, OK?

"We need Shaquille O'Neal to play well in order for us to be successful. Plain and simple. D-Wade knows that. And everybody else on this team knows that. We need Shaq to be on the floor.

"We need Shaq out of foul trouble. And we need him to play well. We need 20 [points] and 10 (rebounds), 25 and 10, four or five blocks, whatever. We need that from Shaquille O'Neal in order for us to play well, plain and simple."

Mourning leaned back and exhaled, and, well, what was left to say? That covered four games of work, didn't it? That's all you need to know entering tonight's Game 5.

Oh, it might be more fun to say this series is about who's coaching better, how Chicago's chemistry works, why the Heat's offseason moves are a bust and what's happening to make the Heat unravel at times.

And this needs to be said: Payton should shut up. In a perfect world, he would be shipped out to sea quicker than you can say, "Bon voyage." He's too old, too slow and can't shoot well enough to be worth any trouble, much less the trouble he blew at Wade in Sunday's Game 4.

Earth to Payton: Wade's the guy who buys the groceries. At 37, you're the guy who bags them up.

But even that's a secondary issue for the Heat in this series. It's still in the Heat's control and it will be decided by one very simple question: Can O'Neal stay out of foul trouble?

"When he hasn't been on the floor, that's when we've had some of our biggest lapses," Mourning said.

Sure, the Heat's offseason moves were to lessen the importance of O'Neal and Wade to the Heat. But let's be honest, what team can miss one of its top two players and keep winning? Look at San Antonio with Tim Duncan hurting. Look at Phoenix with Amare Stoudamire out. Look at Sacramento with and without Ron Artest.

With no foul trouble the first two games against Chicago, O'Neal played 35 and 37 minutes and the Heat won. In Game 3 and 4, he played 24 minutes each and the Heat lost. It was Churchill who said every complicated question has a simple answer, and that's it for the Heat.

All O'Neal's other numbers followed form. He averaged 24.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and four blocked shots in the first two games. He averaged 12 points, six rebounds and no blocked shots in the last two games.

There are all sorts of theories for his foul troubles and each one has some validity: At 34, his feet aren't as quick; Chicago's guards have blown past the Heat's perimeter defense to attack him; the referees have missed some calls ...

"Don't make me say it," Heat coach Pat Riley said, alluding to the referees. He stopped himself, started, then stopped himself again and said, "We've got to keep him on the court."

"Shaq didn't play well and we were still in a position to win the game," Mourning said. "And we only shot five free throws. For the game. With an intense, physical game like that, we only shot five free throws? That's another topic for discussion."

This is the typical talk you get in the playoffs. But these aren't typical playoffs. When Western top seed San Antonio is tied with No. 8 Sacramento, when Eastern top seed Detroit gets dusted by Milwaukee in double digits, it warns you not to get too caught up in one or two nights.

The Heat-Bulls series is something else. Monday brought another story line. O'Neal's wife gave birth to their daughter, Mearah Sanaa O'Neal, at 4:57 a.m. It was his sixth child. It doesn't mean anything in tonight's game, unless he brings a picture, shows the refs, says he has another mouth to feed and asks for sympathy.